Stopping time. The story isn’t in the book

I am happy to tell you that now you can buy my flash fiction story collection СURIOUS THINGS on AMAZON!
40 very short stories (no more than 500 words each) about inanimate objects which act like they’re alive! And here is the bonus for you today — the Watch story. You won’t find it in the book because it’s brand new!

STOPPING TIME

The wristwatch didn’t like keeping up with time. It loved to snooze under the covers, dreaming sweet dreams. It lulled itself to sleep under its owner’s ear, with a quiet ‘tick-tock-tick-tock.’ The watch felt as if its hands moved more slowly during the night, and hoped that in the end, time would stop altogether, and that it would never again hear that same, shrill noise, butting into its dreams at the very best part. As the wristwatch slowed down, so did the time it kept. And it was also awakened by the alarm clock, which rang later and later every day. The watch thought it was extending its owner’s life this way, but it was only putting him at risk of getting fired.

The next morning, the wristwatch heard a severe voice.

“You’re late for the last time!” it said. “If it’s your watch again, then buy a new one – at your salary, you can afford it!”

The watch would’ve been glad to make up for lost time, but it was too late to change its pace. The thought of parting with its owner was upsetting on the one hand, but completely liberating on the other: it could work – or not, run fast – or slow, or just stand still and not go anywhere at all. The prospect of being its own boss was so relaxing, the watch slipped off its owner’s wrist and vanished in a snowbank.

The next spring, a patch of dandelions bloomed, exactly where the watch had plunged into the snow. The wind blew the white floaties off their fluffy little heads, bleached by time, and they scattered in different directions in search of new places.